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Coast Guard searching for cruise crew member overboard north of Hilo

The search is underway for a crew member reported overboard from a cruise ship Tuesday, approximately 1,133 miles northeast of Hilo.

Watchstanders at the Coast Guard Joint Rescue Coordination Center were notified at approximately midnight of a 34-year-old Filipino national who was reported overboard from the Grand Princess, according to the U.S. Coast Guard, 14th District in Honolulu. The crew member was last seen around 10:26 p.m. Monday.

An HC-130 Hercules airplane crew from Coast Guard Air Station Barber’s Point is currently on scene and the cruise ship has changed course and is searching for the missing passenger, according to the Coast Guard.

As part of the Automated Mutual-Assistance Vessel Rescue System program, the container ship Horizon Reliance is also assisting in the search along with the Grand Princess’s sister ship, Star Princess.

The U.S. Coast Guard reported winds at the scene are currently 20 mph with seas of 7 feet. The water temperature was 70 degrees.

The rescue program, sponsored by the Coast Guard, is a unique, computer-based and voluntary global ship reporting system used worldwide by search and rescue authorities to arrange for assistance to persons in distress at sea. With AMVER, rescue coordinators can identify participating ships in the area of distress and divert the best-suited ship or ships to respond.